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The Great Work II: Seasons expands our line of alchemical symbol pins successfully Kickstartered earlier this year. This new set focuses upon signs of the seasons, planetary metals, and eventually, symbols of unique occult significance.

The Great Work begins anew with two symbols of traditional alchemy, Autumn and Silver presented as 1.5" soft enamel lapel pins. These pins combine a black soft enamel with a shining nickel finish to make stylish and subtle accessories to any ensemble. This set will also feature double pin posts for superior stability. They will be shipped to you on a backing card bearing the Strix Publishing logo, appropriate for gift giving.

This will be a short, 3-week campaign in the hope of having these pins ship to backers in time for the holiday season this December. As such, it will be important that backers submit their survey as soon as possible upon completion of the campaign so we can place our order.

9 additional, original symbols may be unlocked as stretch goals over the course of this campaign, the first of which will be revealed upon reaching our funding goal of $2,100.

UPDATE: Due to popular demand the previously funded Sulfur (Leviathan Cross) and Mercury symbols are now also available via the Kickstarter!

Medieval alchemists used symbols in their notes as short hand for complex ideas. Autumn could be inscribed to represent the transition in temperature from hot to cold, to describe a bountiful harvest reaped from previous alchemical process, or simply to represent the time of autumn as the most auspicious for beginning a work.

Silver is one of the seven planetary metals of alchemy, and is associated with the moon, also called Luna, in astrology. This metal and its symbol are believed to have feminine qualities and are associated with purity in both alchemical process and as a state-of-mind. In astrological terms, silver is also associated with the Roman goddess, Diana, goddess of the moon and the Hunt.

Sulfur is also one of the tria prima, the fundamental aspects of human identity as defined by the alchemist Paracelsus. Sulfur was believed to embody the emotions and desires of humanity, separate from the higher faculties of the spirit. This variant of the sulfur symbol is also known as the Leviathan Cross.

Called “quicksilver” by the ancients, mercury is one of the three primes of alchemy and one of the seven planetary metals. Associated with spirit, mercury represents the transcendence of states. Mercury is both solid and liquid, heaven and earth.

The strix was a flesh eating bird of ill-omen, walking on four taloned legs, and bearing a razor-sharp beak, in the myths of the ancient Greeks. The earliest known tale of the strix is from Metamorphoses in which Polyphonte and her sons Agrios and Oreios were punished for acts of cannibalism. Polyphone was cursed to becom a creature "that cries by night, without food or drink, with head below and tips of feet above, a harbinger of war and civil strife to men." References to the strix are found throughout the surviving works of antiquity through the days of the Roman Empire and survived into the middle ages, where its name became entangled with the Romanian word for vampire, strigoi, and creatures that scream in the night like the Strigăt barn owl.

The original set of pins from the first Great Work Kickstarter are available now. All orders through the Strix Publishing web shop are 10% off through the end of this campaign on October 10th as a "thank you" for your support of The Great Work II: Seasons!

Risks and challenges

There is always the possibility of delay when ordering from overseas manufacturers. Sea freight can be delayed by weather or inspection. We are working with a US based office, in Oregon who have been in the business for many years, have excellent relations with their factories, and produced our previous set of pins to our great satisfaction. The designs for the pins are finished, quotes have been obtained, and we will be able to place our orders the day the Kickstarter funds are made available to us. Shipping times during the Nov-Dec holiday season can be subject to delays from heavy volume but we hope to have these on their way to backers in time for Christmas, 2017.